Upcoming open mics, performances, and workshops…
February 25
6:00PM
Broken Mic at Neato Burrito, Spokane
Broken Mic, Spokane’s longest-running weekly poetry open mic has been alive, thriving and giving local poets a platform since it began in 2011. Claudia Castro Luna, former Poet Laureate of Washington State, said the best poetry reading she ever went to was Broken Mic, four years ago! I’ll be hosting our famously raucous Broken Mic community of poets and writers. And if you’re feeling brave, sign up at 6 pm the night of to read three minutes worth of poetry yourself!
Previous events…
May 23
6:00PM
No Neutral: Poetry Night with Shin Yu Pai
Asians for Collective Liberation Spokane’s Chai Culture Club presents Shelley Memorial Award winner and former Seattle Civic Poet, Shin Yu Pai, as she graces us with a retrospective reading of her poetry across the years, including her most recent work, No Neutral.
Joining Shin Yu is Spokane local poet Asyia Gover who will be reading a couple of her own writings including pieces from her first chapbook, East Side Solitude.
Free and open to all! RSVP and get a chance to win a book in the raffle. Donations are encouraged for those who have the financial capacity to contribute so we can continue making our programs accessible.
This event is brought to you by ACL Spokane’s Chai Culture Club, Auntie’s Bookstore, Better Health Together, KH Consulting, YWCA Spokane, KSPS PBS, and KYRS.
May 23rd, 2025
6-7PM
Auntie’s Bookstore
402 W Main Ave
Spokane, WA 99201
All ages
Free
May 17
11:15 AM
Nonviolent Creativity with AJ the Wordsmith and Asyia Gover
Learn a new way to write poetry through conflict in this introspective workshop. This event is part of the Inland Northwest Poetry Salon.
Nonviolent Creativity is a workshop that uses the basic framework of nonviolent communication as well as other conflict-resolution tools to prompt and inspire poetry. This workshop is inspired by the academic method of Nonviolent Communication (by Marshall Rosenberg) and the presenter’s experience as a certified mediator.
AJ the Wordsmith is a local artist, success mentor, activist, actor, model, unique jewelry maker/repairer, and college graduate from Eastern Washington University. AJ the Wordsmith spreads a message of non-violent communication to the people through the art of free speech and poetry. You can hear him read his poetry aloud on Spokane Public Radio here.
April 15
11:30 AM
National Poetry Month Reading Series
April is National Poetry Month!
April 8th: Poets Janelle Cordero & Emerald “Fitz” Fitzpatrick
April 15th: Poets Asyia Gover & Sarah Rooney
Let the Words Move You!
Hosted by Spokane Community College Library
April 12
9:00AM
Get Lit! Festival 2025 Book Fair
Thank you for joining us in celebrating 27 years of the Get Lit! Festival. Each year brings a diverse lineup of highly sought-after authors to our region, while also highlighting our local literary talent. This year we had two full days of readings, craft classes, open mics, panel discussions, literary happy hours, and more!
Join us for our annual Book Fair at the Montvale Event Center, which includes access to 12+ festival events featuring dozens of authors including Maggie Smith, Danez Smith, Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Tara Campbell, Rena Priest, and many others! Events include readings, panel discussions, reading and writing sessions, an open mic, and so much more! The Book Fair will host 20+ local and regional booksellers, small presses, non-profits, and other bookish organizations.
Foray for the Arts hosted a variety of featured performers from past Foray events at their table! Asyia and other local authors and performers greeted guests, shared each other’s work, and partook in the love of all things literature!
April 4
7:00PM
3 Minute Mic featuring Asyia Gover
Auntie’s Bookstore First Friday Poetry Open Mic
It’s the 12th Anniversary for 3 Minute Mic!
Spokane’s favorite First Friday open poetry mic returns, hosted by Chris Cook (guest-host, Chris Coppen)! This month we will have a feature poet, Asyia Gover! All are welcome to read or listen. This is a free speech, uncensored event.
March 28
9:00AM
Housing Stability Mediation Program Design & Implementation
27th Annual Northwest Dispute Resolution Conference, March 27th – 28th, 2025
Mia Gover of Whatcom DRC will summarize Housing Stability program development and ongoing challenges. Learn about design strategies effective in Whatcom, and discuss insights to tailor housing mediation to fit your community. Focus areas include internal processes, outreach, and client interests.
December 19
4:00PM
From the Vault: An Archival Poetry Project
Local Poets Respond to the Library’s Special Collections
Local poets will share their original poems based on items from the Spokane Public Library’s special collections and archives, which are kept in a climate-controlled room called “the vault.”
An award-winning group of Inland Northwest poets will share their responses to various archival treasures found within the Spokane Public Library vault. Following the event, poems and archival items will be placed on display on the 3rd Floor of the Central Library for others to read and admire. This event is meant to inspire an unexpected and lyrical conversation between the past and the present.
December 15
3:00PM
Foray For the Arts Performance Marathon
Join us at The Grain Shed Taproom for a performance marathon featuring:
Performances from:
Karen Mobley, Kate Peterson, THOSE WHO DWELL IN DIM CARCOSA, Alexander Manzoni, AP Marcus the Warrior, Ash (Flow Dancer), Carey Jackson, Jenni Watson, Jeremy TeGrotenhuis, Kristin Bonser, Lorna Rose, Shraya Singh, Wilma, Julia Staben, TS Loveless, Jake Tyler Updegrove, Joseph Williams, Sarah Jardine, Ciara Totton, Seth Marlin, Taylor Waring, and more!
October 24
6:00PM
Poetry Readings & EAST SIDE SOLITUDE Release Party 2!! at PNWaffle Boutique, Bellingham
Join us on October 24th to celebrate the release of my first chapbook, East Side Solitude! Hear select poems from the book, and see the illustrations in full color and up close! Be one of the first to purchase a signed copy directly from the author, and claim your exclusive illustrated book merch! But first, we must partake in my favorite occasion… Poetry Open Mic!! BYOP or try connecting with a poem new to you.
PNWaffle Boutique is an artists’ collective shop for local, handmade gifts and culinary provisions from the beautiful Pacific NW. Find PNWaffle Boutique in the historic Leopold building at 1230 Cornwall Ave.
October 24th, 2024
6-8PM
PNWaffle Boutique
1230 Cornwall Ave
Bellingham, WA 98225
All ages
Free
October 7
7:00PM
Speak Easy at Bijou South, Spokane
Come enjoy or participate in an open mic night at the South Hill Bijou every Monday night from 7:00-9:30pm. Sign up to perform spoken word, read an excerpt of short fiction, or something else creative. I’ll be there reading and maybe singing some karaoke if I get in the mood! You should be there too!
October 4
5:00PM
Terrain 15 | Main Event
Always on the first Friday in October, Terrain is an annual, one-night-only, juried multimedia art and music event celebrating artists in the Spokane area.
Featuring new works by HUNDREDS of artists, and attracting thousands of attendees, it’s a celebration of new energy and fresh ideas from all over the artistic spectrum. From painting to poetry to interactive art and film, we try to showcase a little of everything that’s making the Inland Empire a more vibrant, cultural and beautiful place to live.
October 2
6:30PM
EAST SIDE SOLITUDE Release Party!! at Broken Mic, Neato Burrito, Spokane
Broken Mic, Spokane’s longest-running weekly poetry open mic has been alive, thriving and giving local poets a platform since it began in 2011.
Join us on October 2nd to celebrate the release of my first chapbook, East Side Solitude! Hear select poems from the book, and see the illustrations in full color and up close! Be one of the first to purchase a signed copy directly from the author, and claim your exclusive illustrated book merch! And if you’re feeling brave, sign up at 6 pm the night of to read three minutes worth of poetry yourself!
Sep 21
11:00AM
Spokane Open Poetry Program
Spokane Open Poetry Program, the place for great readers to gather and share thoughts, feelings, emotions. On Saturday, September 21st at 11AM I joined host Stephen Pitters to read some poems and celebrate the release of East Side Solitude! This show is hosted by KYRS Thin Air Community Radio on 88.1/92.3FM Spokane/Medical Lake. Listen to this extended reading using the player below!
June 26
8:00PM
The Light by Foray for the Arts at Saltese Uplands, Spokane
Foray for The Arts Presents: The Light: A Sunset Reading for Conservation and Illumination is a reading at Saltese Uplands near Spokane Valley. The event will be on 6/26/24 from 8pm-10pm.
This sunset reading will take place on one of the trails at the Saltese Uplands Conservation Area and include themed readings and performances about conservation and the illuminated mind. Featured performers include Asyia Gover, Liina Koivula, Paul Lindholdt, AP Marcus, Charles Potts, Liz Rognes, and Jason Stariwat. The group will depart the parking lot at Saltese Uplands at 7:45pm and make their way roughly 1/4 mile up-trail to an area for viewing the sunset. The trail is not ADA accessible and may present mobility challenges. Chairs and blankets are recommended. Cider provided by Trailbreaker Cider.
June 1
2:00PM
Inland Northwest Poetry Salon at Liberty Park Library, Spokane
We’re happy to announce the first annual Inland Northwest Poetry Salon, a day-long event at Spokane Public Library that celebrates the craft of poetry and features generative workshops and inspiring panels from an exciting array of writers within our region. The Salon aims to celebrate the craft of poetry for participants in all phases of their writing lives.
The Inland Northwest Poetry Salon will take place at the Liberty Park Library on Saturday, June 1 from 10 AM until 4 PM and will feature a whopping 11 events, all curated by writers within our region.
Asyia’s workshop is titled “Journal Poems: Everyday Inspiration” and begins at 2:10PM.
Don’t let writer’s block stop you! Journaling is a great way to stay active as a writer when the inspiration isn’t flowing. Even better, when you go back to your journal entries, you may find some golden nuggets worth refining into a poem! Asyia Gover’s upcoming book, East Side Solitude, was developed largely from journal entries and a practice of recording thoughts and observations on significant dates. Learn Asyia’s method for changing a diary into a manuscript by attending this workshop! Bring a journal entry of your choice, or write one on the day of. All bodies, brains, identities, experience levels welcome.
May 9
8:00PM
Snaps, Claps and Daps at Club Dezi’s, Oakland
AFRO ENT (@acoupleofkidsfromoakland – @_upsidedownghost_) + @o2thegbg in partnership with DOPE ERA (@dopeeraco – @fabbydavisjr1) is bringing you SNAPS, CLAPS & DAPS Open Mic EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT at Club Dezi’s – 1802 Telegraph Ave, Oakland CA (Across the street from the Fox Theater) from 8PM – 11PM hosted by @o2thegbg and @_upsidedownghost_
FREE ENTRY
This is a weekly event open to all forms of poetry to come share your voice, share your talent and express yourself in a safe space. Doors open at 8pm. The list opens at 8 until full. Spoken word poetry is BACK in Oakland so pull up, hop on the mic or just come and enjoy a dope show and remember, it’s the ERA WAY … NOT THE OTHER WAY!
Apr 20
11:00AM
Spokane Open Poetry Program
Spokane Open Poetry Program, the place for great readers to gather and share thoughts, feelings, emotions. On Saturday, April 20th at 11AM I joined host Stephen Pitters to read a few poems from East Side Solitude! This show is hosted by KYRS Thin Air Community Radio on 88.1/92.3FM Spokane/Medical Lake. Listen to this extended reading using the player below!
Asyia Gover Poetry & Prose 